Sir John Pringle, 1st Baronet (10 April 1707 – 18 January 1782) was a Scottish
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
who has been called the "father of military medicine" (although
Ambroise Paré
Ambroise Paré (c. 1510 – 20 December 1590) was a French barber surgeon who served in that role for kings Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III. He is considered one of the fathers of surgery and modern forensic pathology and a p ...
and
Jonathan Letterman
Major Jonathan Letterman (December 11, 1824 – March 15, 1872) was an American surgeon credited as being the originator of the modern methods for medical organization in armies or battlefield medical management. In the United States, Letterman i ...
have also been accorded this
sobriquet
A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...
).
Biography
Youth and early career
John Pringle was the youngest son of
Sir John Pringle, 2nd Baronet, of
Stichill
Stichill is a village and civil parish in the historic county of Roxburghshire, a division of the Scottish Borders. Situated north of the Burgh of Kelso, Stichill lies north of the Eden Water and from the English Border at Coldstream.
Stichi ...
,
Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...
(1662–1721), by his spouse Magdalen (d. December 1739), daughter of
Sir Gilbert Eliott, 3rd Baronet, of Stobs
Sir Gilbert Eliott, 3rd Baronet, of Stobs ( – 27 May 1764) was a Scottish Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons between 1708 and 1727. He was outlawed after killing his opponent in an after-dinner argument and fight, but w ...
.
He was educated at
St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
, at
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, and at
Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
. In 1730 he graduated with a degree of Doctor of Physic at the last-named university, where he was an intimate friend of
Gerard van Swieten
Gerard van Swieten (7 May 1700 – 18 June 1772) was a Dutch physician who from 1745 was the personal physician of the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and transformed the Austrian health service and medical university education. He was the fa ...
and
Albrecht von Haller
Albrecht von Haller (also known as Albertus de Haller; 16 October 170812 December 1777) was a Swiss anatomist, physiologist, naturalist, encyclopedist, bibliographer and poet. A pupil of Herman Boerhaave, he is often referred to as "the fa ...
.
He settled in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
at first as a physician, but between 1733 and 1744 was also Professor of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh University.
In 1742 he became physician to the
Earl of Stair
Earl of Stair is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for the lawyer and statesman John Dalrymple, 2nd Viscount of Stair.
Dalrymple's father, James Dalrymple, had been a prominent lawyer; having served as Lord President ...
, then commanding the British army in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
. About the time of the
battle of Dettingen
The Battle of Dettingen (german: Schlacht bei Dettingen) took place on 27 June 1743 during the War of the Austrian Succession at Dettingen in the Electorate of Mainz, Holy Roman Empire (now Karlstein am Main in Bavaria). It was fought between a ...
in Bavaria in June 1743, when the British army was encamped at
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat.
Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...
, Pringle, through the Earl of Stair, brought about an agreement with the
Marshal of Noailles, the French commander, that military hospitals on both sides be considered as neutral, immune sanctuaries for the sick and wounded, and should be mutually protected. The
International Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
, as constituted by the modern
Geneva Conventions
upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
,
developed from this conception and agreement.
In 1744 he was appointed by the
Duke of Cumberland
Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland.
History
The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedo ...
physician-general to the forces in the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
. In 1749, having settled in a smart house in
Pall Mall,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, he was made
physician in ordinary
''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair ...
to the
Duke of Cumberland
Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland.
History
The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedo ...
.
On 1 April 1752 he married Charlotte (d. Dec 1753) second daughter of Dr
William Oliver (1695–1764) of
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
, the inventor of
Bath Oliver
A Bath Oliver is a hard, dry biscuit or cracker made from flour, butter, yeast and milk; often eaten with cheese. It was invented by physician William Oliver of Bath, Somerset around 1750, giving the biscuit its name.
History
When Oliver ...
biscuits, but they had no issue.
In 1760, he wrote an appreciation of the Life of General
James Wolfe
James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a Major-general (United Kingdom), major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the Kingdom of France, French ...
.
On 5 June 1766 John Pringle was created a baronet, and in 1774 he was appointed Physician to His Majesty King
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
.
He was also a frequent travelling companion to
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
. The successful London bookseller
Andrew Millar
Andrew Millar (17058 June 1768) was a British publisher in the eighteenth century.
Biography
In 1725, as a twenty-year-old bookseller apprentice, he evaded Edinburgh city printing restrictions by going to Leith to print, which was considered be ...
noted Pringle and Franklin as dinner guests at his home.
Academia
His first book, ''Observations on the Nature and Cure of Hospital and Jayl Fevers'', was published in 1750, and in the same year he contributed to the ''Philosophical Transactions'' of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
three papers on ''Experiments on Septic and Antiseptic Substances'', which gained him the
Copley Medal
The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...
. Two years later he published his important work, ''Observations on the Diseases of the Army in Camp and Garrison'', which entitles him to be regarded as the founder of modern
military medicine
The term military medicine has a number of potential connotations. It may mean:
*A medical specialty, specifically a branch of occupational medicine attending to the medical risks and needs (both preventive and interventional) of sold ...
.
In November 1772 he was elected
President of the Royal Society
The president of the Royal Society (PRS) is the elected Head of the Royal Society of London who presides over meetings of the society's council.
After informal meetings at Gresham College, the Royal Society was officially founded on 28 November ...
, a position he held until 1778. In this capacity he delivered six discourses, which were afterwards collected into a single volume (1783).
In 1735, Pringle became a Fellow of the
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...
.
Pringle was a regular correspondent and friend of
James Burnett, Lord Monboddo
James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (baptised 25 October 1714; died 26 May 1799) was a Scottish judge, scholar of linguistic evolution, philosopher and deist. He is most famous today as a founder of modern comparative historical linguistics. In 1767 ...
, the Scottish philosopher. Monboddo was an important thinker in pre-evolutionary theory, and some scholars actually credit him with the concept of
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
; however, Monboddo was also quite eccentric, which was one reason for Monboddo's not receiving credit for the evolution concepts. It was in a letter to Pringle in 1773 that Monboddo revealed he did not really hold to a belief of men being born with tails, which was the chief point of his ridicule.
At the age of 73 he went, briefly, to Edinburgh in 1780, but returned to London in September 1781, and died in the following year.
Legacy
There is a monument to Pringle in
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
, executed by
Joseph Nollekens
Joseph Nollekens R.A. (11 August 1737 – 23 April 1823) was a sculptor from London generally considered to be the finest British sculptor of the late 18th century.
Life
Nollekens was born on 11 August 1737 at 28 Dean Street, Soho, London, ...
. At his death, his baronetcy became extinct.
After a legal case in 2004, the
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...
was able to open to the public the Pringle papers that it holds.
See also
*
Clan Pringle
Clan Pringle is a Lowland clan from the Scottish Borders.
Origin of the Name
According to the detailed book 'The Records of the Pringles', the surname Hoppringill, or Pringle, dates from the reign of Alexander III of Scotland (1249–86) and is ...
*
Pringle baronets
There have been two baronetcies created for members of the Scottish Pringle family, one in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and one in the Baronetage of Great Britain. As of , one creation is extant.
The Pringle Baronetcy, of Stichill in the Coun ...
References
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
* ''Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland, and Scotland'', by Messrs. John and John Bernard Burke, 2nd edition, London, 1841, p. 428.
* ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage'', edited by Peter Townend, London, 1970, 105th edition, p. 2186.
*
External links
*
ClanPringle.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pringle, John, 1st Baronet
1707 births
1782 deaths
18th-century Scottish medical doctors
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Alumni of the University of St Andrews
British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession
Fellows of the Royal Society
Leiden University alumni
Members of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh
People from the Scottish Borders
Philosophy academics
Philosophy teachers
Physicians-in-Ordinary
Recipients of the Copley Medal
Scottish military medical officers
Younger sons of baronets
Academics of the University of Edinburgh
Scottish non-fiction writers
Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain
Presidents of the Royal Society